The conflict in Syria has spurred sectarian violence between Sunni and Alawite neighborhoods in Tripoli, and now Beirut, Lebanon — a country that’s been strained for years between pro- and anti-Syrian groups, said Abouzeid.

Recent running gun battles in parts of Tripoli are provoking “a very real sense that this time it might be more than just … a simple burst of violence that can be easily subdued,” she said.

Despite the chaos and lower-level defections within state institutions in Syria, the upper levels of those institutions remain intact — a testament to how President Bashar al-Assad and his father were able to build up a formidable security apparatus over the years, she continued.

“It’s quite a formidable regime, quite a formidable apparatus to try to pull apart,” she said.

We’ll have more on the violence in Syria, including a report from Alex Thomson of Independent Television News from Homs, on Monday’s NewsHour. View all of our World coverage and follow us on Twitter.